November 2008
Snow falls as filming for “Wattie’s Great Race” commences
Filming began in earnest as snow fell for the production of the Wattie’s Great Race, where the weather conditions threw up all kinds of obstacles for the production team including safety and logistic problems. Producer Ross Hunter explains further:
“Although very fitting to the subject matter the snow was not a welcome site from a production point of view. We did have some problems when filming scenes outdoor, most notably scenes with Wattie out training with his Huskies. The plan was to film some action shots of Wattie mushing through the forest, three miles from his house in Stonehaven. Once there we would use a quad bike to tow a trailer with myself, the Director and Cameraman taking up position ready to film along side Wattie as he mushed through the forest. Due to the nature of shots we were hoping to achieve our cameraman Patrick had to film lying face down on the trailer as he hung over the edge at speeds of up to 15mph. This we were prepared for but what we weren’t prepared for was the wet, muddy snow that was being kicked up by the wheels of the trailer and landing on top of us. We chose the trailer because it had no edge, it was basically a sheet of metal with wheels at the side; this would allow us to film low angle shots from over the edge. Unfortunately, this offered little protection from the snow that was being kicked up, and falling over the side. After travelling about 50 metres on the trailer we had to stop as there was too much mud being thrown up; we were prepared to get covered in mud but we weren’t prepared to let the camera get damaged this way. We needed some protection for the camera but we knew it would take too long to travel back to Aberdeen given the conditions, and Wattie and his Huskeys were eager to get going so a bit of improvisation was required which came in the form of a sleeping bag and some masking tape. The masking tape and sleeping bag done the trick and we managed a couple of mud covered circuits following Wattie on the Quad.”
“It was great to have Patrick on board during the shoot, he came highly recommended from our Director Alexander and we flew him in especially from his base in Munich. Patrick brought a lot to the shoot and managed to achieve some fantastic, creative shots from some very demanding conditions; this made myself and Alexanders job so much easier during this intensive shooting schedule. I would recommend anyone who plans to produce their first documentary or film to invest in a experienced cameraman. A good experienced cameraman can make the difference to the access of a production.”
Director Alexander Hirl, Producer Ross Hunter and Cameraman Patrick Ranz film Wattie and his Huskies as they train near Stonehaven
Photograph by Senior Cameraman Gary Stewart D.O.P
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